The ticket tax funding shouldn't be a point of contention with people who are against CalgaryNext (or CalgaryPlanB). It works just like IamNotKenKing stated. It isn't coming from public coffers. It is coming from the pockets of the people buying a ticket to the game. I would expect an increase in ticket prices regardless if there is a ticket tax or not - I would imagine any new arena has increased ticket prices, and every arena that can sell tickets at an increased price will in fact increase prices. Supply and demand. Therefore, it does indeed completely get funded from the owners.
The contention is where that money is coming from up front, how fast it will be repaid, what the interest is on that amount, and what plans will have to be put on hold if the money is being borrowed from the city.
The CRL is definitely a bone of contention that I don't agree with. I would probably agree with it more if the owners were moving into real estate and bought up the adjacent land with the intent on developing it - then the CRL would still be covered by the owners in the long run (though where that money gets fronted from is still a concern).
With developers having to pay a CRL in the adjacent land, I think it would make it a little less appealing for them. It would perhaps also place some restrictions on what may go up in that location.
There are a lot of issues with the structure of the proposal, but the ticket tax is the least of my concerns. It is really the only funding portion that I don't have reservations about.
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